Outdoor
New Products 2023

The spring/summer 2023 collections from Quechua and Forclaz confirm a strong commitment to technical products with reduced environmental impact, without compromising on comfort and always at the best value price.
Whether it's for a few hours or several months, escaping into the middle of nature and limiting our environmental impact is within everyone's reach!

Quechua x Forclaz

Quechua and Forclaz,
different sports activities
but common values

Nestled at the foot of Mont Blanc, close to the hiking and trekking trails, Quechua and Forclaz work side by side to develop ever more innovative, accessible and sustainable outdoor products.

Whether it's for a few hours hike, a trek over several days, camping or bivouacking, Decathlon's outdoor brands allow everyone to escape.

Quechua and Forclaz offer technical products so that nature lovers can experience moments of freedom and exploration.

Each brand works
on distinct activities

Quechua focuses its product development on intensive or more moderate hiking, whether in summer or winter.
Unsurprisingly, it also offers a complete range of products for camping and van-life to help you recharge your batteries in the heart of nature.

Forclaz offers products for exploring new horizons self-sufficiently and over several days.
This includes mountain trekking with a night bivouacking or in a refuge, or travel trekking for backpackers who alternate days outdoors with cultural visits. It is also possible to trek in more extreme environments that require specific equipment: desert, tropical or arctic.

Ecodesign

At the end of 2021, 10.4% of DECATHLON's turnover came from Ecodesign products, in 2022 it was 23%.

Understanding the challenges of climate change and the depletion of resources, Decathlon's teams aim to have 100% of their products designed using an Ecodesign approach by 2026.

This is a challenge that drives the teams every day in their search for more responsible components and innovative production solutions.

  • Forclaz

  • "Everyone to their own getaway"

  • "Maximum adventure, minimal impact"

  • Quechua

Forclaz

"Maximum adventure, minimal impact"

Quechua

"Everyone to their own getaway"

New Products
2023

Know-how and commitment
at the heart of product design

The different steps of product design

Identifying the needs with sportsmen and women

1. Identifying the needs with sportsmen and women

To develop the products of tomorrow, everything starts with listening to and observing hikers, trekkers and campers.
For some products, Quechua and Forclaz even co-create directly with sportspeople.

(Eco)designing the product

2. (Eco)designing the product

Once the needs have been identified, the design phase begins.
Eco-design is integrated from the moment the product is imagined.
The components and manufacturing methods are studied in order to choose the least impacting solution to create efficient and durable products over time without compromising their technicality.

Integrating repair from the start

3. Integrating repair from the start

The possibility of repairing the product is also integrated from the design stage and provide the most suitable solutions.
The aim? To make the most common spare parts accessible and to facilitate repair. Whether by the customer, or in the many repair workshops found in Decathlon stores, in order to extend the durability of the product.

Testing the products in laboratories and in real-life conditions

4. Testing the products in laboratories and in real-life conditions

The prototypes are then assembled to check the feasibility of the product and to test different assemblies. They are then tested in laboratories and in the field to ensure that they meet all practical requirements.

Improving existing products

5. Improving existing products

The products are then marketed and their lives continue!
Customers use them during their adventures and have the opportunity to share their experiences through customer reviews. These are carefully analysed by the project groups to identify possible improvements to the products.

Extending their lifespan to reduce environmental impact

6. Extending their lifespan to reduce environmental impact

With the aim of extending the life of the equipment, Quechua and Forclaz support sportsmen and women by offering advice and tips on how to use and maintain their equipment properly, as well as how to change spare parts when needed.
Sportsmen and women can then choose to repair their products themselves via videos or drop them off at any Decathlon workshop where experts will take care of them. They are then put back on sale inside a second life zone.

The know-how of designers, specialised expertise and the ability to listen to customers are real assets for the development of ingenious and technical products.
From the creation of the product to the end of its life, the Quechua and Forclaz brands also take care to reduce its impact and consider all possible solutions to extend its life.

Mountain Store

The Mountain Store,
international design centre

A real base camp at the foot of Mont Blanc: the Mountain Store
The Mountain Store design centre is the starting point for all the creations of the brands it houses (Quechua, Forclaz, Wedze and Rockrider).
Located in France, at the foot of Mont Blanc, it was inaugurated in 2014 and awarded the High Environmental Quality (HEQ) label.
This temple of mountain sports now houses around 550 employees and has all the infrastructure to enable the teams to design better products every day. Prototyping workshops, laboratory tests, customer feedback area, shop... In the Mountain Store offices, ideas for tomorrow's products are born, which then come to life in the workshops before finding their place on the shop shelves.

A site that evolves with the needs of the brands

A place for meetings and exchanges, ideally located to test products in the field, in real life conditions, the Mountain Store is constantly evolving to adapt to the needs of the teams. Since 2014, it has expanded to accommodate more staff and the machinery needed for product development, including new laboratory tests directly integrated into the site. Tent prototypes can now go directly from the heavy-duty workshop to the shower column test to check their waterproof level. As the expertise in hiking and trekking boots is part of the objectives of the Quechua and Forclaz brands, part of the FID (Footwear Industrial Division) team is now based at the Mountain Store.

The Mountain Store opens its doors to all mountain sports lovers
The Mountain Store is a place open to all, also hosting convivial moments.
The teams regularly organise events for sportsmen and women: conferences on sport, the environment, sports outings, etc.
A restaurant and a coworking space complete the spaces available to visitors.
To give visitors a behind-the-scenes look at product design and the work carried out by the brands located there, tours of the Mountain store are also possible.